Abstract

NS(B2Π–X2Π) chemiluminescence has been observed from the thermal‐energy reaction between N(2D) atoms and OCS molecules under single collision conditions. The vibrational populations of NS(B) decrease monotonically with increasing vibrational quantum numbers from v’=0 to 4, while the rotational temperature is constant at about 1000 K for all vibrational levels. The observed vibrational distribution is more excited than the statistically predicted ones, suggesting that the reaction proceeds by a direct mode.